The ballad is a first person narrative by Francis Tolliver, a fictional British soldier from Liverpool.

The album is based on the story of a fictional soldier, whose "story" furnishes the theme.

"I'm going to get my bayonet fixed and try to act out the tale as I tell it," said Herb Yellin, who plays the fictional soldier.

The Imperial Stormtroopers are fictional soldiers from George Lucas' Star Wars universe.

Several of the fictional (composite character) soldiers mentioned in the book were used as the basis for characters in the movies Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.

Hellspawn are fictional soldiers from Todd McFarlane's comic book series, Spawn.

Jagernauts are fictional soldiers in the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro.

Gravedigger is a codename used by two fictional soldiers published by DC Comics.

The book centers around Byzantine Emperor Justinian II and is told through the ideas of a fictional soldier named Myakes.

A supersoldier is a fictional soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities.